The foundation of Intercultural Family Services, Inc. (IFSI) is rooted in the experiences of thousands of immigrants/refugees who came to Philadelphia to create new homes from countries around the world such as Angola, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Hungary, Laos, Poland, Romania, and Vietnam.  After traveling thousands of miles, sometimes taking many years, they moved next door to people who didn’t speak the same language, pray to the same God, eat the same foods, or use the same medicines.  IFSI’s guiding principles emerged from these interactions between the newcomers and residents:

  1. IFSI respects different beliefs, customs, and values;

  2. IFSI promotes the similarities amongst people; and

  3. IFSI celebrates culture and faith as the grounds for collective understanding.

  

With these guiding principles, IFSI’s leadership set out to build family-oriented services that were culturally competent, linguistically appropriate and, most importantly, flexible enough to be tailored to individual or family needs.

 

The organization was founded in 1979 as the Asian American Service Center.  Under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, it was incorporated in 1984 as the Philadelphia Refugee Service Center.  Finally, in 1992, we changed our name to Intercultural Family Services, Inc. (IFSI), which reflects our current mission.

 

What began as a small resettlement agency run by volunteers with limited funds has grown into a multipurpose human service organization supported by private and public partnerships.  Recognizing the power of diversity, IFSI’s Board and staff are of various Africa, Asian, Latino and European descent.  As a result, we have the capacity to translate and interpret in more than two dozen primary languages.

 

IFSI serves people throughout the greater Philadelphia area and in four other locations within the state of Pennsylvania.  Today, IFSI provides an array of community-based health and social services, and a constant exchange of training, educational, artistic, cultural and civic experiences.  In the year 2000, over 10,000 people benefited from IFSI direct service programs and over 20,000 from IFSI outreach programs.

 

Cultural competence is the cornerstone by which IFSI measures its success.  IFSI adheres to the belief that all individuals possess invaluable resources that are essential, not only for personal growth, but also for improved family and community relationships.  IFSI builds on the strengths inherent in the cultural heritage and values of its program participants.  The experience and practice of diversity in action have made our programs among the most unique and demanded, city and statewide.    

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